Was he limping during extra time? Need a bit more convincing that he hasn't just bottled it. Would have been a good finish Vardy taking the final penalty, was just imagining him absolutely twatting it in

I remember Anelka was a late sub in the Champs league final and he was asked to take a pen. He later said he was not mentally ready to take one but did anyway. I wish he'd "bottled it" and said no like Vardy.

I remember Anelka was a late sub in the Champs league final and he was asked to take a pen. He later said he was not mentally ready to take one but did anyway. I wish he'd "bottled it" and said no like Vardy.

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I bet you do.

I feel the same way, I think. I would rather someone be honest and say that they shouldn’t take it than lie and say they should. I don’t want someone taking a penalty kick who doesn’t believe they’re up to it at that moment.

Jamie Vardy has all but retired from playing for England after informing Gareth Southgate that he believes the time is right for him to focus solely on club football.

The Leicester striker, who turns 32 in January, says that a number of factors have influenced his decision, including his age and a desire to spend more time with his family, after accepting he is unlikely to feature much for England even if he remains part of the squad.

Vardy, who has won 26 caps and been in every England squad since his first call-up in May 2015, spoke to Southgate just before returning from the World Cup finals in Russia, to explain that he was thinking of stepping aside. He confirmed that was still his intention during a telephone conversation with Southgate a fortnight ago, when the England manager wondered whether Vardy might have changed his mind before next month’s fixtures against Spain and Switzerland.

Southgate told Vardy he felt the striker “still had a lot to offer” at international level but the manager also understood the thinking behind the player’s decision. With England not exactly blessed with striking options, Southgate and Vardy have agreed to “not shut the door completely”, although he would return only if there were a major injury crisis.

“To be honest with you, this has been on my mind for a while,” Vardy told the Guardian. “I’m not getting any younger and you can see, to be fair to the gaffer, he wants to make it more youthful, which obviously had its benefits during the World Cup – we got to the semi-finals and finished fourth, which is equal to the furthest we have ever been on foreign soil. So I just said to Gareth that I think it’s probably best from now on, especially with the way he wants to go, to bring youngsters in who he thinks have got the ability and start nurturing them into international football.”

Asked whether the prospect of travelling with England but not playing much had influenced his decision, Vardy replied: “Yeah, I think that had an impact. When you get selected, you want to be playing. If you’re playing week in, week out for your club, you want to be going to England to play as well. And if it’s not happening, then for me personally now, at this age, it’s better to be at home, spending that time with my family and training with my club, preparing for the next game after the international break.”

Vardy added: “I explained it all to Gareth and he was fine with my decision. I mentioned it to him after the World Cup had finished, out in Russia, and then I spoke to him on the phone a couple of weeks ago. He let it die down a bit, so that I could have a bit more time to think, and then rang me up just to make sure I wasn’t just taking the mickey in Russia. But I hadn’t changed my mind. Gareth said that he felt I still had a lot to offer, and we’ve not shut the door completely. If the worst came to happen and everyone was injured, then obviously I wouldn’t say no.”

Vardy speaks highly of Southgate, describing him as “brilliant” and praising him for helping to create the togetherness that made England “feel like a club environment”, although he admitted he was frustrated not to play more at the World Cup, especially in the semi-final against Croatia, when he only got on for the last eight minutes of extra time. “I thought I could have helped a bit more if I had more minutes,” Vardy said. “You know that you can hurt opponents in certain ways, in the way you play. But it wasn’t to be. And you have to respect the manager’s decisions.”

How far have we fallen to have fans wanting Vardy at the club,
Some fans hounded Rooney, a club legend, out of the club yet there's some wanting an aging striker who's legs have blantantly gone...
This season he has been awful at times.

How far have we fallen to have fans wanting Vardy at the club,
Some fans hounded Rooney, a club legend, out of the club yet there's some wanting an aging striker who's legs have blantantly gone...
This season he has been awful at times.

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I know right, a Premier league winning striker, shocking. Lets spend 90m on another tugboat instead

Vardy's greatest strength is his pace, which he won't have much longer seeing as he is almost 32. Plus, you struggle with teams that park the bus, not teams that attack you where he can be an asset for a counter. He won't be anything special if you guys go for him.

Vardy's greatest strength is his pace, which he won't have much longer seeing as he is almost 32. Plus, you struggle with teams that park the bus, not teams that attack you where he can be an asset for a counter. He won't be anything special if you guys go for him.

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We also struggle against teams that attack us, press us, teams that pass the ball, teams that hoof the ball, teams that do not forget to turn up on match day.